The Economic Problems of Less Developed Economies - Example

The Economic Problems of Less Developed Economies Student's Name Student’s Id Professor's Name Date of Submission Table of contents 1. Executive summary……………………………………………………………………3 2. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………...4 3. Body of the report……………………………………………………………………..5 3.1. Strain on water resources………………………………………… 6 3.2. Unemployment………………………………………………….... 8 3.3. Education……………………………………………………….. 10 3.4. Health…………………………………………………………… 11 3.5. Land use……………………………………………………….....12 3.6. Poverty ………………………………………………………..…15 4. Summary and Conclusions……………………………………………………..……17 5. References……………………………………………………………………...…….19 List of tables and figures 1. Graph 1: comparison of renewable fresh water availability…………………………..…..7 2. Graph 2: Kenya’s population projections…………………………………………..……10 3. Figure 1a: Part of Marmanet Forest before destruction……………………………….....15 4. Figure 1b: Part of Marmanet forest after destruction………………………………...…..15 1. Executive summary The introduction gives an overview of the status of less developed economies and then proceeds to mention some of these nations and their distribution throughout the world. The paper further presents a detailed explanation of effects rapid population growth on the economic development of less developed economies. Some of the impacts of overpopulation include health problems, poverty, land use issues, poor education standards and low living standards. An emphasis is placed on these factors and how they create grave economic problems in different countries. Through the use of pictures and graphs, the impact of some of the factors can be observed clearly. Finally, a summary of the impacts of overpopulation in less developed economies is given, and emphasis is given on the most prominent ones. The conclusion offers some solutions that may be applied in the less developed economies so as to eradicate the challenges create by rapid population growth. The main strategy given is curbing population growth through family planning education on the use of birth control methods. The conclusion further to sums up what has been discussed entirely with recommendations that could assist in setting strategies that could reduce tremendous impacts of overpopulation on less developed economies in the world. 2. Introduction Countries which are considered to be less developed are characterized by low socioeconomic development. Human development index is lower as compared to other countries in the world1. According to the United Nations policies of 1960s, less developed economies are arrived at through three major criteria. Firstly, a low income nation which portrays per capita less than 1000 USD for consecutive three years is a less developed economy. Also, nations with weak human resource characteristics in regards to health, education and literacy levels make up the less developed economies in the world. Finally, the UN classifies a country with economic vulnerability as a less developed economy. Such nations are characterized by unstable agricultural production, low export operations and inability to deal with natural disasters. (UN World Population Report, 2001). The less developed economies include poor nations in the world which have started improving, and establishing their industrial base although they have not achieved standard growth in their level of production and earnings. Such economies are often referred to as underdeveloped. Many of such nations face frequent economic challenges since they have large populations which are ever mounting. Also, grave difficulties are observed in high unemployment levels, social evils and poverty escalation. (Croitoru and Sarraf, 2010)1. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development identifies less developed countries to include: all African nations in exception of South Africa, countries in the Middle East, all Latin America countries in exception of Cuba and some nations in Asia. Most of the identified nations rely on foreign aid due to multifarious economic problems (Malthus, 1965)2. However, economists think that oil producing nations are immune with regard to economic stability. On the contrary, these nations have failed to expand their internal income by venturing into other economic fields such as agriculture. They rely on oil production, which is bound to exhaustion. Therefore, they remain less developed because the industrial base does not move beyond oil production. On the other hand, some nations are less developed due to political instability caused by wars and other natural disasters. These nations also rely on small scale farming where the citizens cultivate land for their own food (Croitoru and Sarraf, 2010). According to (Lester and Gardner 1999), the real economic problems in less developed economies include lack of skilled labor and productive capital. Besides, there are no planned and well established financial markets which may allow for commercial ventures. Worse still, infrastructure is poorly developed which makes transportation, communication and technological advancements difficult. On the other hand, capital formation is not possible in such an environment hence the lack of a stable currency. Additionally, less developed nations face government instability due to a jumble in all the major economic sectors. Despite economic aid and assistance committed to the less developed nations, the intensity and persistence of internal political, social and economic problems render the help futile. (UN World Population Report, 2001). 3.0. Body of the report According to Adepoju 2012, overpopulation is considered to be an undesirable condition in the less developed economies whose human population exceeds the environment’s carrying capacity. This condition is created by uncontrolled birth rates, reduction in rates of mortality and immigration. For that reason, the United Nations organization has expressed its concern over the continuous population expansion is sub-Saharan Africa, which are less developed economies. This increase comes with associated problems such as increased demand for fresh water and food, malnutrition and healthy problems and consumption of natural resources at a faster rate than they can be generated. There is also a decline in living standards. This has placed the poor nations at a very bad state since they are much strain on the environment. (Lester and Gardner, 1999) The natural resources are extremely crucial in the development of an economy. The Kenyan Government, for instance, has attached great importance to the environment in achieving its strategic goals, which include poverty reduction and economic recovery. However, the rate of population growth exceeds the capacity that the natural resource can sustain. (Malthus, 1965) Although population growth is not the only cause of economic stagnation in less developed countries, it is the cause of numerous damages that are accelerated by other world problems. This is due to an interrelationship between the rate of population growth and levels of economic development in a given period of time. The recent escalation in population numbers is related to deforestation, agricultural development, health, employment, education, food and nutrition, water resources and urbanization patterns (Croitoru and Sarraf, 2010).3 3.1. Strain on Water resources Gardner-Outlaw & Engelman (1997) indicates that water crisis has been observed in less developed nations due to population increase. For instance, most of the African population relies on freshwater supplies, which are contained in lakes, rivers, springs and wells. These water supplies are becoming inadequate to the ever growing population. Kenyan urban centers are facing a grave challenge in water supply because of the growing population in urban centers. Other urban centers in less developed economies face the same problem. Nevertheless, the lakes are salty and the process of desalinization is extremely expensive and, therefore, unaffordable for the less developed nations. The water problem affects both domestic and industrial operations which pose an economic matter to the nations concerned. (Lester and Gardner, 1999) Graph 1: comparison of renewable fresh water availability (Adapted from Gardner-Outlaw T, & Engelman, R. 1997) From the graph above, water resources cannot be categorized as renewable and in less developed economies, the demand for water exceeds the amount of supply the nation has the capacity to sustain. The water crisis is an economic matter in less developed economies since water is used for agriculture, household purpose, and it is used in industries. The population growth and water consumption patterns clearly indicate that increase in population affects both the quality and quantity of water. Nevertheless, strain on water resources leads to climate change and dilapidation of natural resources such as fisheries and forests. This consequently creates an economic impact. (Gardner-Outlaw & Engelman, 1997)4. Human activities all over the world have increasingly challenged water managers since they are known to disrupt the hydrological cycle a great deal. The ever growing populations less developed economies make it difficult to offer water supplies that are reliable and affordable. In the recent past, local communities have shown concern that human activities should not degrade water ecosystems or disrupt the much treasured economic ecosystem services. Some of the services that are affected include fishing, cultural activities and provision of recreational value such as tourism. The economic activities mentioned bring revenue to the nations, and if destroyed, the countries face economic challenges. (Warford and Partow, 1991) It is prudent to note that water ecosystems support human life and ethical values. Human beings need water for drinking and other domestic uses. However, the growing food and industrial activities have negatively impacted the river ecosystem. The less developed economies need to address the condition of ecological requirements while considering its position across an array of needs for water in order to attain and sustain the resource adequately. However, this is difficult with the ever growing population(Malthus, 1965). 3.2 Unemployment The booming population growth in less developed economies has left many citizens jobless. In east Africa, the problem is intended to become worse in the coming years despite the efforts put by respective governments to curb the challenge. The Kenyan government estimates the unemployment rate to be 14% and admits that there is a enormous potential of increase in the subsequent decade. The less developed nations are likely to face unemployment at double digit rates. This means more economic trouble because there are more entrants into the labor force per year who need to be absorbed. This labor cannot be fully absorbed into the nation’s job market hence trigger immigration to developed nations for greener pastures. The less developed economies constantly lose their skilled labor hence brain drain. Consequently, stagnation in economic development is observable (Poverty and Environment Initiative-Kenya, 2006). Additionally, the economic problems intensify with population growth due to low interaction between population growth and unemployment patterns. A larger proportion of the population comprises of the youth who need to be employed for an economic effect to be realized. Nevertheless, the women labor force is not allowed to participate in the labor market hence difficult for the less developed nations to offset fertility effects. This means that population will be on the rise forever if labor policies are not reviewed such that they accommodate both genders equally (Warford and Partow, 1991)5. Unemployment is triggered by the declining agricultural land in less developed nations, as a result of overpopulation. This was a traditional source of unemployment which has diminished over time. It is also prudent to note that unemployment in less developed nations is a product of a slow pace of industrialization which is a potential avenue for employment. 3.2. Education The African continent is already casing behind in the provision of education to its population. With increased population growth, there is a competing demand for increased investment in education. This, however, remains a challenge for less developed economies which lack the resources to do so. It is obvious that the need for education infrastructure is on the increase as population needs expand (Lester and Gardner, 1999). The Ugandan government is doing its best to ensure that citizens are trained for jobs available within and outside the country. Kenya, on the other hand, spends 38% of the national budget on education because of its high population as indicated in Poverty and Environment Initiative-Kenya (2006). Besides, the governments are also required to spend equal amounts of money on health and other services. This depicts that the less developed nations will not have money for any kind of expansion in education if the need arises. Worse still, there is little or no money to invest in projects aimed at creating jobs for the educated population. The nations are, therefore, left with no other option than to seek foreign aid and foreign investments to cope with the economic crisis. Graph 2: Kenya’s population projections (Adapted from Poverty and Environment Initiative-Kenya, 2006) 3.3. Health James and Shanti (1998) argue that unrestricted population growth threatens a country’s economic health. The population growth rate of less developed economies is the highest in the world. It is expected to double as years move. Because of economic challenges, the countries allow unlimited growth in population, which produces a greater segment of the population which is ill-fed and unhealthy. The standards of living of the population deteriorate from one age group to another due to high levels of illiteracy and unemployment. In less developed economies, migration from rural to urban areas is high due to population growth. 6 This creates gigantic cities, which are ungovernable in regards to health and other shanty towns which lack necessary health amenities. Moreover, there is much strain on available health facilities, health support systems and social facilities. (Kindall & Pimentel, 1994) Population growth in less developed economies lead to development of cities through impulsive forces driving limited uprisings. Because of lack of planning, the density and size of the urban population has grown beyond the capacity of local governments. This has resulted to the health challenges faced by local governments and individuals. The ever growing urban population tends to deteriorate housing facilities, which impacts health. In addition, overcrowding leads to poor sanitation systems hence creating health challenges witnessed in many cities today. The less developed economies face health challenges created through pollution, poor sewerage systems and poor garbage disposal around areas of residence. The expansion of residential areas created by population increase has created a lot of complications in determining where the economies begin intervention procedures and where they end. The governments are unable to bare the numerous challenges that come with their development hence remain underdeveloped (James and Shanti, 1998). Nevertheless, the larger segment of the population lives in unhygienic conditions due to water resource depletions. In African urban centers, they are characterized by raw sewage discharge and improper waste disposal. Associated diseases are common in such areas such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery which claim multitudes of lives each year. Some of these aspects can be eliminated although the less developed economies lack the capacity to do so. 3.4. Land use As the population rate, escalates, human activities are intensified, and there is much pressure exerted on land. Many less developed economies rely on agricultural activities for survival and hence the increased population needs more land and space for subsistence farming. Eventually, forests have to be cleared for cultivation space, which consequently leads to global warming, climate change, rising oceans, flooding, soil erosion and salinalization of water bodies and crop lands. In that regard, patterns of precipitation also change due to global warming and agricultural productivity is significantly reduced. Practicing unsustainable agricultural practices often results into a reduction in crop productivity. Land degradation is often linked to increased population, which interferes with land development and consumption trends. This as well leads to loss of animal and plant resources due to shrinking forests. Uncontrolled population growth is the sole reason why agricultural productivity is lagging behind in Africa. There is abundant land but with the lowest agricultural yields. It is an economic issue which is fueled by other social, political and institutional problems which result from rapid population growth(Warford and Partow, 1991) 7. In reference to Kindall & Pimentel (1994), population growth accelerates continued cut down of trees which has affected the rainfall amounts a great deal. This in return has led to limited rainfall within the areas that are affected, which in return has reduced the amount of water in the rivers. The animals and organisms that live in water are bound to suffer hence reduce in number drastically. Obviously, loss of revenue sources intensifies the economic crisis in less developed nations. Population density has a considerable impact on initiating and accelerating environmental degradation. This includes poor farming practices, overgrazing, and uncontrolled human settlement. Population growth leads to urbanization which in return exerts pressure on land resources. Africa and Latin America lost one-sixth of forest cover between 1960 and 1990 due to the need to create space for the growing population. Additionally, Asia lost one-third of its forest cover during the same period. A survey done in the 1980s in Uganda indicate a negative fuel wood supply and demand balances. Population increase led to destruction of forest cover which led to negative effects on the dependants of wood fuel for both domestic and commercial uses. This means that rural women were gravely affected as well as other economic aspects such as health, nutritional trends and soil conservation. (Economic Commission for Africa, 2004) Land tenure, in general, is all about land ownership and rights to land utilization. Land may be privately owned, owned by a community or it could be state owned. Change in land tenure due to population growth often leads to change in land use. The less developed economies are unable to control land ownership regulation due to rapidly increasing population. High population rates breakdown the customary laws and rules which managed and controlled land use in the past (Economic Commission for Africa, 2004). For instance, when state owned land is converted to private owned land (for example converting a forest into an agricultural land), this often leads to destruction of trees and other ground covers, which leads to environmental degradation. Further, destruction of trees leads to desertification. As a result of these changes, several environmental degradation processes have been observed especially the heavy downstream siltation and intense floods. In Kenya, for instance, change in land tenure (and therefore land use) has been experienced in many parts. For example, during the Moi Era, about 12,000 hectares of Marmanet forest were destroyed by being converted to agricultural land (Government of Kenya, 34) converted to agriculture land as shown in the figures below. Secondly, loss of the cover resulted into erosion, as is evidenced by the gulley erosion in the second photo. These are just a few of the visible negative impacts of forests destruction. There are other numerous negative impacts arising from the destruction of the forest. For instance, the destruction of this forest has resulted into a significant change in the hydrological cycle in the region (Government of Kenya, 35). In addition, it has resulted into a significant change in the productivity of the entire white highlands (Marmanet) region, which was otherwise known for high agricultural productivity. (Poverty and Environment Initiative-Kenya, 2006)8 Figure 1a: Part of Marmanet Forest before destruction () Figure 1b: Part of Marmanet forest after destruction (Adapted from Government of Kenya report) 3.5. Poverty Poverty is another natural factor that has a substantial contribution towards environmental degradation as noted in less developed economies. For a long time, a majority of societal problems have been attributed to the poor people in the society whose population increase rapidly. The poor people have again been blamed for economic problems in not only Kenya, but also in other parts of the world, such as Asia (Jalal, 12)9. It has already been acknowledged that poverty makes people exploit any available resources in order to enhance their survival (World Bank). For example, poverty leads to unsustainable land use such as continuous cropping (growing crops season after season). This leads to soil pulverization, which in turn leads to soil erosion by wind and water. Further, poverty leads into forest destruction in order to burn charcoal for selling. This eventually leads into the destruction of soil cover, which leads to soil erosion by wind and water. The nature of destruction highlighted above cannot allow a country to rely on its resources for economic upgrade; hence, it remains economically retarded. Poverty impacts the health of citizens in a nation. (Kindall & Pimentel, 1994)10 The less developed economies such as, Latin America and African nations, experience the highest prevalence of malnourishment today. The trend is likely to persist in the impending years because of rapid population growth. Moreover, the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is high due to social instability. This has increased poverty since the population segment which is infected by the disease is weakened and is not able to engage in any economic activity. High dependence on the few people who can work intensifies the economic crisis in less developed economies (Lipton and Martin, 1995)11. According to the Economic Commission for Africa (2004), the Nigerian population is growing rapidly to an extent that families survive in 7 by 11 rooms with narrow corridors. Worse still, 50 people share toilets and sinks and more than 100 students share a classroom. This poses a great health challenge to the country due to extreme poverty. The unemployment rate in Nigeria is 50% , and most people fall into the age of 15 to 24. This has increased crime as a way of earning a living. On the other hand, poverty is coupled with inflation in less developed economies due to low capital formation levels. This condition is aggravated by the inability of the government in place to set productive, economic policies because of its economic weaknesses. These nations often have high population densities which hamper poverty eradication hence impossible to keep inflation at bay. These countries also experience low life expectancy despite the rapid rise in population numbers. Often, social crimes arise and drug cartels with increased theft cases where people operate for survival. Poverty causes conflicts over limited resources in crowded areas hence the possibility of high warfare levels in less developed economies(Economic Commission for Africa, 2004)12. 3. Summary and Conclusions According to Warford and Partow (1991), the less developed economies face numerous economic problems. The main challenge is the uncontrolled population growth which triggers other social, political and economic problems that make the less developed economies remain stagnant in regards to their current economic position. The main challenges that are caused and exacerbated by human overpopulation include inadequate water resources, degradation of natural resources, poor health, low education standards, unemployment, poverty escalation as well as poor land use and control systems. The impacts of population growth highlighted have a direct impact on the economy. For instance, increased levels of pollution affect the health status of the population. Overpopulation is described as a serious threat to the quality of human life in less developed economies. The less developed nations may redeem their economic status if they only focus their education towards curbing overpopulation. Family planning and birth control education should be prominent to teach the population about simple methods such as the use of condoms, pills intrauterine devices and other available strategies. Women are the most affected and thus should form the target education group such that they access basic birth control information and know the affordable means of planning the family size and spacing the children appropriately(Lipton and Martin, 1995). In less developed economies, women lose their lives due to pregnancy complications and abortion attempts. 86% of such deaths occur in Africa and South Asia regions. Nevertheless, about 8 million infants lose their lives as a result of malnutrition and other diseases that otherwise could not occur in developed economies(Lester and Gardner, 1999)13. According to Lipton and Martin (1995), Africa accounts for 12% of the world’s population. This is expected to rise by 2100 to one- third of the world’s population. This pace of population growth in Africa is hazardous, and the continent is facing critical economic challenges, as a result. It is admirable that many governments in Sub-Saharan Africa have become concerned over the issue of population growth, and have begun to take necessary steps to reverse the situation. Similar forces applied in the United States can be applied in Africa, Asia and Latin America to move the countries to a better economic position. The steps towards invaluable transformation should be driven by mixed education and employment opportunities for men and women alike, family planning and birth control, planned urbanization and environmental education dissemination. 5. References Adepoju, Aderanti. Population Policies in Africa: Problems and Prospects journal of African Affairs , Volume 74, Issue 297, 2012, Pp. 461-479 Croitoru, L., and Sarraf, M., (Eds). The Cost of Environmental Degradation: Case Studies from the Middle East and North Africa. Washington, D. C: The World Bank. 2010. P 1-50. Economic Commission for Africa. Land Tenure Systems and Their Impacts on Food Security and Sustainable Development in Africa. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Economic Commission For Africa. 2004. P 64. Gardner-Outlaw, T. Engelman, R. Sustaining Water, Easing Scarcity: A Second Update. Population Action International, 1997. Jalal, K., Sustainable Development, Environment and Poverty Nexus. Occasional Papers No. 7. Asian Development Bank. P. 12. James, E. and Shanti, R. Africa's Population Challenge: Accelerating Progress in Reproductive Health. Washington, Dc: Population Action International. 1998. Pp. 82. Kindall, Henery W & Pimentel, David (May 1994) Constraints on the expansion of global food Supply. Ambio. 23 (3). Lester, B. and Gardner, G. Beyond Malthus: Ninetten Dimensions of the Population Challenge. Washington, D.C. World watch Institute. 1999. Lipton, M. and Martin, R. 'Poverty and policy'. In Handbook of Development Economics (ed. Behrman Jere and T. N. Srinivasan), vol. 3, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1995. Lucas, F. L. The Greatest Problem: an early wake-up call on over-population, by a Distinguished Cambridge academic, 1960. Malthus, Thomas. An Essay on the Principle of Population As It Affects the Future Improvement Of Society. London, 1798; reprinted with notes by J. Bonar, New York. 1965. Poverty and Environment Initiative-Kenya. Poverty and Environment Issues: Governance Institutions, International Frameworks and Opportunities for Communities. Nairobi, Kenya. 2006. P 55. UN World Population Report 2001" (PDF). p. 38. Retrieved on 13th June, 2012. Warford, J., and Partow, Z., Natural Resource Management in the Third World: A Policy and Research Agenda. In Chapman, D., (Ed). Arresting Renewable Resource Degradation in the Third World. World Bank Environment Working Paper Number 44. Washington DC: The World Bank. 1991. P 78. Read More